by ricks
7. April 2010 18:02
Jesus' resurrection is the destiny of all who believe in Jesus. It is a future reality that affects our present. "When we speak of Jesus' resurrection, we are not talking only about Jesus' present but also about our future and the ways that our future is breaking into the world in which we now live" (J.R. Daniel Kirk, Christianity Today, April 2010, 39).
Since we "have been raised with Christ" already (Colossians 3:1), we can "walk in the newness of life" (Romans 6:4), "set our minds on things above" (Col. 3:1), and "consider yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus" (Romans 6:11). Through the Holy Spirit's power Christ was raised from the dead as the first fruits, we too will be raised by the Holy Spirit's power (Romans 8:11) and through the Holy Spirit's power we can "by the Spirit put to death the deeds of the body" (Romans 8:13). We have not yet been raised but our future destiny affects our present in ways that transform lives today.
As followers of Christ, our lives are scripted into the Lord's story of death and resurrection. This gives us such hope that we even look at hardship differently. "But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed" (1 Peter 4:13).
Imagine the difference if we were to live as a people filled with such hope! This hope would transform how we do marriage, family, church, work, and school. We would "rejoice in the Lord always" and refuse to whine and complain. Instead of busying ourselves with the things of this world we would be drawn into the Lord's presence to let our minds be "renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator" (Colossians 3:10). The overflow of this renewal would be a life lived out of a sense of fullness and purpose, guided along by the Holy Spirit -- instead of frenzied, fruitless, busied living.
What's your destiny look like today?
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